


Look Away

by redcandle17



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - Martin
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-04
Updated: 2010-01-04
Packaged: 2017-10-05 19:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redcandle17/pseuds/redcandle17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sansa cannot bear to look at her betrothed's sworn shield.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Look Away

Arya had long since wandered away to play with one of the serving boys and Septa Mordane was napping in a cart. Lady had disappeared with Nymeria when a rabbit had crossed their trail, and Jeyne Poole was with her father, leaving Sansa was quite bored. Her prince was not far ahead of her, but the Hound was with him so Sansa hesitated to join him. _You're being silly. The Hound is his sworn shield. He'll always be with him._ But she knew that if she went to her prince, the Hound would turn his horrible burnt face towards her and his mouth would twist awfully as he laughed at her. He always laughed at her, or smiled in way that made her feel as though she'd amused him somehow. Sansa disliked it, but Joffrey never seemed to notice and she didn't want to sound childish by complaining of it to him.

"Sansa!" Prince Joffrey had turned in his saddle and was beckoning her to join him.

_It would be more chivalrous for him to come to me._ Sansa dismissed that thought. Joffrey wanted her company; that was the important thing. She urged her horse towards him. The sun had turned the prince's hair to gold and the wind had disarrayed it in a way that made Sansa long to reach out and tenderly brush the golden curls away from his brow. There was even a golden light in his green eyes. _He's so handsome!_ She was lucky that she would be queen to such a handsome king one day. "My prince," she sighed.

"Lady Sansa," Joffrey bowed as much as he could from atop his horse. "You look as lovely as ever."

Sansa blushed. "Thank you, my lord. You look very handsome." Sandor Clegane laughed, but she pretended she hadn't heard him. "The weather is very fine today, isn't it?"

"There's a chill in the air," Joffrey said.

It felt quite warm to Sansa, but she said, "Yes, my lord. Winter is coming." There was a half-cape draped over Joffrey's shoulders, made of alternating strips of red and gold silk. Perhaps if she looked to be cold, her prince would offer it to her. Sansa thought of the cold of Winterfell's crypts and shivered.

But Joffrey did not notice. "You'll be happier in King's Landing," he told her. "Away from this frozen land."

"Are you cold, girl?" the Hound asked her.

Sansa glanced at him. His mouth was twisted in a smirk. She quickly looked away. If she said yes, he might offer her _his_ cloak, a green wool thing that looked in need of washing. "No, ser," she said, "But I thank you for asking."

"Some of the men saw lizard lions," Joffrey told her. "Do you want to go take a look at them?

Lizard lions _ate people_. The last thing Sansa wanted was to go near them, especially not without her direwolf. Still she hesitated to say no to her prince. She should try to be brave like Good Queen Alysanne. "I…"

"Your Grace," the Hound interrupted, "The swamps are no place for a lady."

Joffrey looked abashed. "You stay here then, Sansa. I'll kill one of them and bring it back for you to study safely."

Sansa breathed a sigh of relief as she watched her prince and his bodyguard ride away. She did not think it likely that Joffrey would kill a lizard lion, but that was good since it meant he would not bring up the subject again.

Sure enough Joffrey made no mention of dangerous beasts the next day. He rode beside her for a while and talked to her, though afterwards Sansa could not remember what they had spoken of. When he left her, she lapsed into a dreamy silence until she was jarred out of imagining the Dragonknight (who looked an awful lot like Joffrey) battle Ser Morgil by the sound of loud laughter. She looked around for the source of the disturbance. It was the Hound. His face was turned to the man he was talking to, so his scars were out of Sansa's sight. _He does not look so terrible when you cannot see the burns._ He almost looked like a proper knight, or he would if he wore finer clothes. As if he could feel her watching him, he started to turn around. Sansa quickly looked away and pretended to laugh at something Jeyne Poole had said.

Jeyne gave her a curious look, probably startled out of her own daydreams about Robb. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Sansa said. "I only just had a vision of the Hound dressed in golden silks, like the Kingslayer. But it would not suit him."

"He scares me," Jeyne said. "And he doesn't have the look or manner of a knight. If I was the queen, I would get a better knight to protect Prince Joffrey."

"Joffrey is fond of him," Sansa said loyally. "And the Hound must be the best knight aside from the Kingsguard themselves to have been given such an important duty."

"I suppose," Jeyne said doubtfully.

"He is," Sansa insisted. She had awoken early one morning so she could watch her prince train in the yard. Joffrey had not fought as well as she'd hoped, but she understood. Robb _was_ older than Joffrey; it made sense that he would be a better fighter. She did not doubt that Joffrey would be a great champion when he was older. "I saw him in the yard. He defeated all his opponents." That had been disappointing, too. She'd been embarrassed that Winterfell's men made such a poor showing against the Hound and the Kingslayer.

Jeyne did not look convinced but she yielded to Sansa's opinion on the matter and changed the topic. "Do you think Lord Eddard will find a match for Arya Horseface at court?"

Sansa sighed. "Poor Father. That will be a difficult task." She and Jeyne continued down the road discussing ways to help make Arya suitable marriage material. She didn't turn to look at the Hound when she felt his eyes on her.


End file.
